Member Avatar for JamieLynnSEO

I bought this cheap computer game the other day, called I of the dragon. I was STOKED. It's an adorable RPG where you can play as a dragon and build a town to protect. nerdy, i know... I didn't read the spex, unfortunately, and popped it into my PC to find that I need windows 2000 or xp to run it. I'm using Vista.

I'm thinking of running parallels with my vista AND windows 2000. Sounds dumb, but i REALLY want to play this game.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? How can I get this game running?

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Good result from — dual‑boot is the most bulletproof way to run an older title natively. For others who find this thread via search, here are concise, practical options and the specific checks that aren’t fully spelled out in the replies.

  • Try a targeted compatibility pass first: right‑click the game executable (and the installer), Properties -> Compatibility. Try a Windows XP compatibility setting, check “Run this program as an administrator,” and toggle “Disable visual themes,” “Disable desktop composition,” and “Run in 640x480” if the game is graphics‑old. Run both the installer and the installed .exe through the same settings.
  • If an installer won’t start on a 64‑bit host, it may be a 16‑bit installer; in that case use a 32‑bit guest or native older OS to run the installer, then test the game. Also install any legacy runtimes inside that environment (DirectX 9.0c-era redistributables, old Visual C++ runtimes) rather than relying only on the host.
  • Virtual machine notes (as suggested): VMs are convenient and safer than repartitioning but often limit 3D performance. If you go VM, enable the VM’s 3D acceleration and install guest additions, allocate enough RAM/video RAM, and use a 32‑bit guest for best compatibility. (If you meant Parallels Desktop specifically, note it targets Mac hosts; on Windows look to VirtualBox/VMware/Microsoft Virtual PC.)
  • If you choose dual‑boot: back up first, defragment before shrinking partitions, and install the older OS on its own partition. Installing older OS first usually avoids bootloader headaches; if you install it second be prepared to repair the Vista bootloader.

Finally, check for official patches or modern re‑releases (DRM‑free builds) before resorting to low‑level hacks. The route took is fine for guaranteed compatibility, but the checklist above often saves time and keeps the main system untouched.

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Member Avatar for tje210

vista has compatibility mode for windows xp. i would try that first (just google if you don't know what i'm talking about).

another, slightly more involved solution, would be to partition your hard drive (about 20 GB of it) and install xp on the new partition; at startup, you could choose which OS to boot to. that takes a lot more time and effort though; and for what sounds like a simple game, compatibility mode should be good enough. if not, though, this second solution would definitely work for you.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

If I had to choose between 2000 and XP, XP would be the winner. If you have a XP or 2000 installation disc you could try running them in a virtual machine; depending on resources required.

- Let us know how it goes.

Member Avatar for JamieLynnSEO

portioning my hard drive worked wonderfully! Thanks for all the help guys!

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